Since 1989 my wife Virginia and I have had five basset hounds. We currently have two, Melody my little red and white, and Tanzy my rescue basset.

My first three, Chester, Tiny and Blazer were brothers and sister and are gone now. Melody is their cousin. But I’ll always have good memories of their loyalty, their gentle nature and their companionship and their personality quirks. Melody and Tanzy have their own beds shaped like a chair since they like to sleep in my recliner. I’m a simple man, and one of the pleasures I get in life is watching my hounds sleep in their beds. They’re pretty much indoor hounds, going out only when necessary. They do expect and get a McDonald’s sausage biscuit from time to time.

Tiny was my female basset. She loved to ride on the seat of my truck and sniff the cool air coming out of the air conditioner vent. Chester would sleep on his sofa and let the cat play with his tail. We lost Blazer when he was just over a year old – he was born without an adrenal gland. So the breeder gave us Tiny. Melody has such a gentle nature if the cat crawls into her bed she’ll get up and leave. She did let the cat get into her basked once, as the picture shows. But her personality changes if someone comes into her yard our our house uninvited. Then she’s a pit bull with long ears.
My hounds occupy a very big spot in my heart.

 Artie From Virginia